First Day Back To School For Grieving Council Rock South Students
By Jan Carabeo, Brad Segall, and Mike Dougherty
HOLLAND, Pa. (CBS) --- Today is the first day back to school for students at Council Rock High School South after a tragic accident killed three classmates.
The first of the three students killed in the crash will be laid to rest tonight, sometime after 5pm.
Tuesday night, parents, students, teachers, friends, and more than 2,000 members of the community gathered for a vigil at the high school to mourn the deaths of Ryan Lesher, 15, Shamus Digney, 15, and Cullen Keffer, 16.
The community is still in disbelief. "I was just playing with them a week ago at the civic center," said Mike Ryan, a teammate of Ryan Lesher. "Just, laughing and having a good time, talking about soccer."
School superintendent Mark Klein said the three victims were remembered in a moment of silence during homeroom, and teachers and faculty will do their best to have a normal day for students, despite the tragedy.
"We will have counselors and care teams available for any kids that are grieving and in crisis," he said. "But I believe that coming into school and being in a routine for kids is going to be very good for them."
Klein says school officials are keeping in touch with family members of the victims to help them cope with the loss of the students.
Law enforcement authorities in northeastern Pennsylvania say it was a 15-year-old girl who was behind the wheel of an SUV that crashed over the holiday weekend, killing the three students from Council Rock High School South.
Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards says the teen was driving a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban registered to her father.
She survived the crash along with a 16-year-old girl and another student from Council Rock.
Police believe the girls from the Westchester, New York area picked up the boys, went out for breakfast and then returned, but on the way back she lost control and the car flipped more than once.
A witness told police he believed they were traveling at a high rate of speed. The DA says the investigation is being handled by the Pennsylvania State Police and charges, when they are filed, will be handled by juvenile court.
The DA says she will have no further comment until the investigation is wrapped up.
